How many times in your life have you said or been told “good luck?” Quite a few times, I would guess. We tend to use that phrase when someone is about to embark on a journey, participate in a competition or begin a new venture. Those words are used a lot as a way to encourage one to beat the odds and find success with whatever it is he or she is about to do. Even though these two words seem very innocuous on the surface, I have always looked at them a little differently than most. I was reminded of this the other day when I was telling a friend about something I was considering doing. He listened intently, and as we ended our conversation, he said to me… Good luck! Here is what goes through my mind when I hear that phrase.

Ever since I can remember I have always graciously accepted that comment while at the exact same time a wise little voice in my head always responds with the following thought: Thank you for the well wishes, but I’ll be darned if I’m going to leave this to luck! I’m going to do all that I can to MAKE this happen! That’s my reaction each and every time, and then I go ahead and do all that I can do to take luck out of the equation. So, let me ask you to think about this as you wander through your day. As a general rule, are you someone who leans on luck in your life, or are you someone who makes things happen?